Scarlet Tomatoes
by jemily10
Summary: Two sisters run away from home and find themselves seperated in the woods. Jennifer is found by a mysterious woodsman running away from his past while Emily is taken to the castle where she meets an engaged man. Can these sisters find happily ever after?
1. Escape

Gray clouds covered the night sky. Soft thunder rolled in the distance. In a small cottage near the village, two young girls lived. They were best friends and close sisters. When they were little, their mother died, their father, Richard, remarried but never fully recovered from his first wife's death. He spent his days in the pub downtown. The girls rarely saw him, but they could hear him coming home late at night. Their step-mother, Larine, barely took care of them. They only had only each other to rely on. Every day, the girls heard their step-mother with a new man in her bedroom. Nights were hard to sleep through. Whether it was Larine with a stranger or their drunken father trying to make his way up the stairs Emily and Jennifer hardly ever slept.

The clouds crashed together and the sky lit up. "Jenny, are you still awake?"

Jennifer rolled over, her chocolaty brown hair falling over her face and covering one of her hazel eyes, "Yeah" She mumbled.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe…well maybe…we should get out of this place. I'm sick of this house and the people in it. Besides you of course."

Jennifer looked worried, "Emily," she said, sitting up now, "there's no way we could get away with it. It sounds like they are downstairs now." It was true, from their bedroom they could hear their father banging around downstairs and Larine yelling at him.

"What if," Emily paused, thinking, "we didn't go out the front door; we could sneak out our window. Our house isn't even one story. It won't be hard."

Jennifer was still unsure but she trusted her sister "Alright, but we've got to plan it. What are we going to bring, how we are going to get out, where we are going to go…" She continued.

There was an earsplitting crash downstairs as Larine hurled a bottle of whisky at Richard. Both girls paused for a second before Emily stood up out of bed and pulled a dress over her nightgown.

"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked

"I can't stay here anymore," Emily replied somberly, "I'm leaving tonight with or without you."

Jennifer watched her sister stuff a bag with clothes before getting up her self, "okay," she agreed though still hesitant.

The girls didn't bother saying goodbye to a house they never knew. Emily went first, climbing out of the window with ease. Jennifer trembled onto the edge of the window and looked down at the dimly lit grass. "I don't think I can do this," she quivered.

"Don't worry, I'm not dead," Emily touched her stomach and legs, a hint of humor in her voice, "see?" Jennifer closed her eyes and jumped, landing on the overgrown grass a few inches away from her sister.

"Maybe this isn't such a great idea" Jennifer said as thunder rumbled overhead. "It's going to rain. Maybe we should go back."

Emily looked up at the sky and then at the window. She considered climbing back up and pretending this never happened. There was another crash from inside. She shook her head, "no, we can't go back." Emily led her sister to a small vegetable patch; the girls had started growing it when they were little. They looked at it and realized to their disappointment that none of the vegetables were ripe. Emily swore under her breath.

Then Jennifer leaned over and picked up two rosy red tomatoes. She grinned and gestured towards the tomatoes on the ground at her feet. Emily grinned too and scooped up the two dozen ripe tomatoes. "Now for the horses" Emily said looking ahead.

"Horses?" Jennifer asked but Emily had already walked away.

When the girls were young, before their mother died, they each had a horse. Their mother taught them to ride and they did whenever they could but after their mother's death, Larine decided taking care of horses was too much work and sold them to the local farm.

"We're stealing?!" Jennifer asked incredulously when they arrive at the old barn.

"We are not stealing; we are taking what is rightfully ours. Now hurry up before someone comes." Emily said, tacking up her horse.

Following her sisters lead, Jennifer uneasily tacked up her horse.

"Ready?" Emily asked, climbing onto the horse.

"Ready." Jennifer agreed, quivering. And the two sisters begin their journey into the woods with only the moonlight to guide them.

"I'm so cold that I can't feel my fingers." Jennifer grumbled.

"I would certainly enjoy a nice hot bath right about now," Emily smiled at the thought then added, "be careful it looks like there's a muddy patch up ahead, it might be slippery, and it's a big fall."

"That's comforting." Jennifer replied. "Do you have any idea where we are going?"

"Yes," Emily turned around to give her sister a smug smile just in time to see her sisters horse miss her footing and slip down the slope. "Jennifer!" She yelled. "Whoa Pepper," she commanded the horse. She jumped down and stood at the edge of the slope her sister just fell down. "Jennifer!" she called into the darkness. No answer. Quickly Emily jumped back on her horse and ran to find an easier way down the hill.


	2. Stranger in the Woods

Jennifer rolled over in pain. "Emily?" she called faintly but her sister was gone. She tried to sit up but twisted in pain, her leg was broken. Next to her, her horse was laying still. Judging by the position of her legs, three of them were broken too. "It's okay Ginger, just try to stay with me, everything will be ok, don't worry," Jennifer whispered to the horse.

Suddenly a twig cracked behind the trees. "Emily?" she tried to say out but it only came out as a whisper.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" the voice was not Emily's, it was too deep, a mans voice. Jennifer knew enough about men to know not to trust them. Ignoring the pain in her leg she managed to crawl behind a tree. Quivering with fear she watched the figure approach the horse. He looked around before crouching next to her. "Hello," he said to Ginger, stroking her neck. "Are you alone?" He looked around again and another figure appeared out of the woods. The second figure turned out not to be a human at all. It was, in fact, a wolf. The wolf came up behind the man causing Jennifer to gasp, the wolf was about to kill this guy right before her eyes! To her amazement though, he stroked it. "I think I've found us dinner," he said to the wolf.

Ginger neighed in pain and attempted to look at the mans face. The stranger took another look around to see if the horse had any owner, then glided his rough hand down her neck. He thought for a second before taking out knife out of his pocket. Then, he plunged it into the horse's chest.

This caught Jennifer completely off guard and she gasped.

"Who's there?" The man stood up defensively and cautiously approached the tree where Jennifer was hiding. She flattened herself against the rough trunk and curled up her legs, silent tears stream down her face. "Hello?" A shadow was cast over her and she looked up to the stranger standing over her. "Are you Ok?" he asked.

Jennifer looked up and was just able to see his face in the moonlight. He looked about 18, a year older then her. His face was well built and muscular. His eyes were a deep brown and his hair the same color. His clothes were torn and stained with sweat. His long russet hair reached down to his shoulder framing his face nicely. "What are you doing here?" He reached out his large, callused hand to help her up. She cowered away eyeing the bloodied knife in the other hand. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," he said with a hint of humor in his voice. He wiped the knife on his pants and stuffed it into his pocket. "Was that your horse?"

She nodded, still unsure about whether or not she could trust him. "I'm sorry, it looked like its legs were broken, and I didn't know what else to do." He looked at her torn clothes, and then at the steep hill from which she had fallen. "Did you fall?" He asked curiously. Jennifer nodded and looked down at her leg as a shot of pain crawled up from her toes to her neck; her face cringed in pain. The stranger looked back up at the drop, "wow that's a big fall, what were you even doing in the woods in the middle of the night?" She didn't answer. He started to bend over to help her up but she cowered away. "Okay, here," He was looking down at her leg, "how 'bout you let me help you clean up that leg of yours and we'll talk about this later." She realized she didn't have any other choice just as a searing pain shot through her leg once more.

She nodded, wincing. He smiled and leaned over to help her up. She was reluctant to let him touch her but was unable to get up herself. Gingerly, he lifted her. He carried her through the woods, the wolf panting happily behind them. She liked the feeling of his arms as he cradled her, they were warm and comfortable. She felt like she could doze off right there.

Finally, once they came into a clearing, Jennifer was shocked at what she saw. She was just able to make out an adorable little wooden cabin was nestled in the trees. "You live here?" She breathed.

"Now you talk," he smiled, amused, "yes, this is where I live. I came here, found this cabin, fixed it up, and now it's my home," he smiled again, proud of himself. He brought her through the door of the cabin and they entered into a small room. He laid her down on a small bed. It was so soft and comfortable she felt like she could fall asleep right there. Well, until she felt the pain in her leg again. She winced as he placed her.

"Here," he went into a small homemade box and pulled out a long cloth. He kneeled at the end of the bed and carefully tended her leg, wrapping the cloth around it. "I'm Mike by the way," he said looking up at her.

"Jennifer" she whispered before slipping into sleep.


	3. The Royal Treatment

"Jennifer! Jennifer!" After what seemed like ages, Emily had made her way to the bottom of the hill. She had almost given up hope when she saw Jennifer's sack on the ground, the tomatoes were splattered across the ground and Emily was sickeningly reminded of blood. She didn't let that thought bother her though, and bounded through the trees. "Jennifer!" She practically screamed. When she slowed down it wasn't because she had seen her sister but because she had seen her sister's horse. Ginger was lying on the ground covered with blood a stab mark right through the heart. "Jennifer!" She called again weakly. Her sister was no where in site. Whoever did this to the horse, who knows what he did to her sister. Emily collapsed on the ground, sobbing. This was all her fault; they should have just stayed home. She'd give anything to get her sister back; she'd give Larine anything she wanted, and more, just for her sisters' life. She sat there sobbing until her horse nudged her with its nose. "I know you're hungry." Wearily, she pulled herself up and onto Pepper. They slowly made their way about a half a mile before the horse gave up. "Your right, let's sleep" she muttered. She slid off of Pepper again and lay up against a tree where she instantly fell asleep.

The sun was too bright. It shone right through Emily's eyelids. She moaned inwardly and remembered with a pang when Larine would make them get up at the crack of dawn to send them to work. She sat up straight, trying to shake the crook out of her neck. She was alone and it took her a second to remember why her sister wasn't with her. Her gut flipped over and she felt sick. Jennifer was dead. Suddenly her stomach growled so loudly that it seemed to rip through the silent of the forest. That's when she realized that she was totally alone and her horse was gone. She managed to pull herself off the ground.

"Pepper!" She called, "Pepper!" But the horse was no where in sight. Her stomach growled again, a reminder. All Emily knew was that she had to find food. She searched for a long time until finally she came to a gigantic stone wall slicing its way through the forest. A wall means people and people mean food. _Now I just need to get in,_ she thought. Her stomach growled once again in agreement. She followed the wall through the forest until she reached a big gate. It was locked.

"Hello?" She yelled pounding on the gate, "hello can someone please let me in?"

"Halt who goes there!" A deep voice sounded from the sky. Emily looked up to see a row of arrows pointing right at her from the towers in the wall. "What do you want?" The faceless voice boomed.

"I… I…" Emily stuttered. "I'm lost, I just wanted some food."

She heard a guard scoff, "why don't you go home? What's a little maiden like you doing in the woods alone?" More guards laughed.

Emily's stomach growled in protest. "I... I... just want some food." The guards kept laughing and Emily gave up, she slouched against the gate, her stomach growling again, as the howls of the guards echoed in her ears.

"Eric!" A sharp voice commanded, "What's that girl doing out there."

"She claims she's hungry and lost."

"Where are your manners, would you want someone to leave your wife out there starving and lost."

"My wife would be right at home, where she belongs." A ripple of laughter went through the guards.

"Well don't be rude, open the gate."

"But sir-"

"Open the gate," And just like that the gates swung open taking Emily by surprise. Standing on the other side of the gate were a few shameful looking guards and in the center of them was a younger looking man, about seventeen years old, the same age as Emily. He had brown hair that reached down to his ears and piercing blue eyes. He was very neatly cut, neater then most men Emily had seen back in her own village, and stood up straight and tall. Emily found herself drawn towards him.

"Hello," he said, flashing his perfectly aligned, pearly white teeth. "What are you doing out there?"

"I… uh, I got lost."

He nodded, looking amused. One of the guards cleared his throat. "Maybe you should come in; I think we should close the gate."

"Oh," Emily said, embarrassed and took two large steps through the gate and ended face to face with the man.

"I'm Brian," he said, sticking out his hand. She looked down at it, they looked strong and soft. He had nice looking hands. She stared at it for a second and had to realize why he was holding it out.

"Um, Emily," she said taking his hand in hers and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you. So, Emily, where are you from?" To her disappointment he took his hand away from hers and pulled it to his side.

"I'm from… far away, but I'm not going back," she looked into his ocean blue eyes.

"Well then, I suppose you will need a place to stay," he offered, smiling handsomely. He turned around and she followed him through the village. As they walked through the common Emily noticed people watching them. _This is odd,_ she thought. Was she really all that different from the townsfolk that they needed to stare?

"So you said you got lost? How did that happen?" Brian asked her, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," she answered solemnly, "My sister and I, we were leaving home." She tried not to show the pain in her voice. "But we got… separated. And I didn't know where to go."

Just then, they approached a fruit stand. "Good afternoon sir," the merchant tipped his rugged brown hat. Brian smiled at the old man and tossed a silver coin in front of him. "Thanks," the merchant smiled, showing his toothless mouth. Brian took two apples off the stand and handed one to Emily and took one himself.

"So, your sister's lost?" Brian took a bite out of the apple. She watched his teeth sink into it and felt her mouth water. Then, remembering her own apple, she took a long juicy bite, savoring it.

Once she had finished chewing she said, "she slipped down a muddy hill last night and I found her horse, it had been stabbed." She felt tears swell up in her eyes and struggled to hold them back.

He looked concerned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "We can send out a search party tomorrow, okay"

She looked up into his crystal blue eyes and suddenly felt comforted. She couldn't help but smile. They were silent for a moment as Emily realized they had left the part of the village where most of the houses seemed to be situated. Suddenly they came upon a huge stone building. No, not building. They were standing in front of a castle.

Brian made a motion with his hand and slowly a drawbridge started to lower.

"Is this your _house?_" Emily choked.

He smiled, "Home sweet home."

Emily was amazed, she had never seen a castle before, her old house was off on the edge of her kingdom and she had only heard of the king.

"A-a-are you the k-king?" She stuttered.

He smiled again, finding her amazement amusing. "Prince actually, my dad's the king."

"Wow," was all she could say. The drawbridge had finally lowered and she followed him across. They entered through a gate where Brian was greeted by yet another guard. After that they approached two massive wooden doors, they each had intricate designs carved into the wood. Letters, actually, that seemed to be written in Latin. She studied the letters until Brian pushed open the doors to reveal a stunning room. The front entrance of the castle was huge. The floor was drowned in a deep scarlet carpet. On either side was a staircase and in front of each staircase was a giant knight. In the center of the room, suspended from the high ceiling, was a huge chandelier. There must have been 1,000 candles on it. Emily stood their gaping but Brian just continued.

They walked up the stairs to a long hallway. It was the most elegant place Emily had ever seen, besides the front entrance. There was a long red carpet stretching all they way to the end where the hallway turned to the left. The ceiling was littered with glass chandeliers and the walls were a deep scarlet too, matching the downstairs carpet. There were so many doors, all the same dark brown wood, Emily couldn't think of what they could all lead to. Just as she was taking all this in there was a shriek coming from the other end of the hallway. She jumped and to her surprise Brian's face was still calm.

"Brian!" There was another shriek as a tiny girl turned the corner. She was wearing a silky pink nightgown that dragged along the floor behind her, on her feet were pink satin slippers to match. She had long blonde hair reaching down below her waist. Emily wondered how long it took for her to brush it. "Brian!" She shrieked again, stomping towards him. "Your idiotic tailor MESSED UP MY DRESS!" She said the last words in such a high pitched voice Emily had to look up to make sure the chandelier didn't crack. Two women came racing down the hallway carrying one of the most beautiful dresses Emily had ever seen. "I SAID I wanted it in RED. NOT MAGENTA!" She squealed at the women.

"Miss, please-" one of the women tried to say but it the girl turned around to face Brian again.

"Who the HELL is this!" She screeched staring at Emily.

"Miss, we need you to try this on-"

"NO! It's not right!" She screamed and stomped off in the other direction totally forgetting about the other girl with Brian. The ladies hurried after her. "Fix it Brian!" She screamed again before disappearing down the stairs.

Brian gave Emily a weak smile, "I should probably take care of this." Emily nodded still overwhelmed. "Millie," Brian called and one of the women, the plumper of the two, spun on her heels and hurried over to him.

"Yes your Majesty." She said ducking her head down.

"Can you please get my friend here some new clothes and show her to a room."

"Yes your Majesty," Millie took a small bow.

"Thank you," he said with charm and hurried off toward the still shrieking girl.

"C'mon Miss," Millie said hurrying off in the opposite direction that Brian went. Emily watched him go before following the scurrying maid.

"Here you go, Miss," Millie said dipping her head in a slight bow. She opened a big wooden door into a beautiful room. Emily stepped in, and was immediately bombarded with a flood of yellow.

"It's beautiful," she said, "Thank-" she turned around to thank Millie but the frantic maid had receded down the hallway. _This is a guest room,_ Emily thought. _I wonder what the actual _bedrooms_ look like._ She looked down at the plush yellow rug and took off her muddy shoes before sinking her feet into it. She stepped across the floor gingerly and collapsed onto the double bed. It was so comfortable. She was snuggling into the perfectly fluffed pillows when the door opened.

"Miss?" Millie peeked her head in.

"Come in, Millie." Emily said sitting up straight on the bed.

"I have brought you some clothes as his majesty requested," she said, her head still bowed.

"Thank you." Emily said taking the pile of clothes out of her hands. Millie ducked out of the room and closed the door gently. Emily spread out the dress Millie had given her. It was the most beautiful dress Emily had ever seen. It was a rose pink dress with petite roses neatly spread in a row rimming. It had a large satin bow in the back and the bottom had lace over it. Millie had also handed Emily pink satin shoes with a single rose above the toe. She slipped the dress on careful not to rip it.

Blissfully she twirled around and stopped when she came to the mirror. She halted and was stunned by how the dress looked too beautiful on her. Then, she perked up, and danced across the room, sashaying with joy and pirouetting around in circles until she suddenly stopped to the sound of the prince clearing his throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," Brian says smiling.

"Oh, it's ok," Emily said, reaching for the bedpost to stop the room from spinning.

"Sorry about, Ella" He said with a consoling smile.

"Ella?" Emily asked but then remembered the girl from the hallway. "Is she your sister?" Brian looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"Actually, she's my fiancée." Emily had only known Brian for a couple of hours but that words still cut through her like a knife. She_ was his fiancée, but she was… she was… so…_ Emily couldn't think of what she was.

"Oh." She managed to choke out. There was no reason for this to upset her, what did she expect. He was a prince; she was just some girl he found lost in the woods that he took in for charity.

"Yeah, her parents, they are the duke and duchess in the north. My parents, well, they thought it would be good, you know, if we get married."

Emily nodded.

"When you saw her, she was just nervous, we have a big engagement dinner tomorrow, she wants it to be- perfect." He looked up from the floor. "So, I see you changed.

"Oh yeah," She smiled down at the beautiful dress. "Thanks," She added again. Then her stomach growled, reminding her of how hungry she was.

"Let's go get you something to eat." He said smiling again.


	4. Good Morning

Jennifer's eye's fluttered open and she was shocked to find herself in a little wooden cabin. "Emily?" she called sitting up abruptly. As she sat up it all came rushing back to her, running away, getting lost, being found. Her hands flew up to her head to try to stop the flooding of painful memories accompanied with a head rush. Out the window she saw last night's rescuer over a hot fire. She slowly sat up and noticed the stranger's wolf lying down by her bed. Now since the sun was out, she noticed the wolf's strange coloring. It was a dark chocolate brown, with one white foot, and a white tip on his tail. There was some black mixed in with his chocolate fur. He had one yellow eye and one light blue eye. Jennifer attempted to get out of bed, but didn't have much success; her leg was wrapped in shredded cloth, holding a stick against her leg to help keep it straight, and was very heavy. She noticed a pair of crutches, made from tree branches, by her bedside. She reached for them and tried once again to get up. This time with success, she hopped over to the door and opened it. She was welcomed by a waft of scrambled eggs and freshly squeezed apple juice. As she walked outside, she noticed she was being followed. Jennifer turned around and saw the wolf by her side.

"Good mornin' Femmina," Mike said cheerfully, "how are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you for tending my leg last night," she said in a croaky voice, "and rescuing me," she added clearing her throat. "What's Femmina?"

"Little girl, in a language my mother used to speak"

"Femmina," Jennifer whispered to herself, "it's very pretty." Now in the daylight, she could truly see how handsome her savior was. She noticed how his brown eyes glinted in the light from the small fire, and how his muscles flexed as he flipped the eggs. As she moved down examining his body, she stopped at his muscular chest. It was tan, and looked rock hard. His six pack, and biceps were huge. Mike turned around and grabbed a cup. He poured some of the apple juice in it and offered it out it to Jennifer.  
"Here you go, have a sip." Jennifer took the hand carved cup and took a small sip, then poured the rest of the delicious juice in her mouth, feeling the cool juice flow down her throat and splash in her empty stomach. "Come here and have some breakfast," Mike served the eggs on a wooden plate and motioned her to a log bench across from him. "You to Castano." The wolf trotted over to him and sat by his side. Mike handed him a plate of eggs too.  
"He likes eggs?" Jennifer asked curiously.  
"Well, Castano here likes everything," Mike bent down to give him a pat on the back, "don't you Castano." Castano broke away from his food and gave an excited bark then went back down to his eggs.  
"How did you end up owning a wolf?" Jennifer asked with interest.  
"Well, I don't really _own _him, he just follows me around all the time and, well, he understands me." He took a break to grab a bite of egg that managed to escape from his mouth but it fell to the ground. They both laugh, Jennifer's, a little giggle next to Mike's bark of a laugh. Mike continued, "When he was a puppy, I found him all alone wandering the woods. He was starving and was easy bait for any predator. After a while of gaining his trust, he allowed me to pick him up and carry him here. I think his mother had abandoned him, we've been friends ever since," he took another bite of his eggs and a sip of his juice.  
"Hm," Jennifer looked around, the small cabin and the vegetable garden it seemed like paradise. "So, this is your home?"  
"Yup, it keeps me warm, dry, and supplies food. It gets lonely though, but at least I've got Castano," Mike bent down to give Castano another pat on the back. "So, Femmina, how did you wind up in these woods anyways?"  
She paused before answering, not wanting to think about the painful memories from last night. "Well," she began, "my sister and I were running away from home, and well, my horse slipped and we both fell down the drop then everything went black. When I woke up, I couldn't remember where I was, or how I got there. Then I saw my horse. Poor Ginger, she never did anything too deserve a fate like that," Jennifer looked down at the ground, remembering all the good times she had with her sister and how she might never see her again. Then she felt a warm touch on her back. She looked up and to her surprise, she saw her rescuer by her side, his arm around her back.  
"Wow, I'm sorry, I hope you find your sister," he paused for a moment and seemed to be thinking of a plan. Great, just what Jennifer needed, another great plan that could go wrong, "you and me, if you want, can look for her-,"  
"No, its OK, she's probably safe anyways. She's always on the lucky side of her plans. She's probably in some house cozy by a fire or something," Jennifer wasn't sure if she believed herself, but it made her feel better to think her sister was safe. She looked down again, worried about what her sister was really doing; the thought of her sister being dead was absolutely terrible. She shook the thought out of her head and brought her gaze back to Mike's promising eyes. "How did_ you _end up in the woods?" she asked him.

Mike looked down at the ground before slowly standing up and rushing to tend the fire. He began to stir the eggs some more.

"Want anymore eggs?" Mike asked quickly.

"No, thanks," Jennifer just stared at him, wondering why he didn't answer.

Mike looked down at Jennifer's clothes, "Do you...wanna change?" he asked awkwardly. Jennifer looked down at her muddied outfit and grimaced.

"Um, sure," she said while smiling weakly. Mike stood up and ambled into the cabin, leaving Jennifer alone with Castano. He came back with a white shirt and tan pants.  
"They're probably gonna be big on you, but it's better than a ripped dress," Mike then barked out another laugh.  
"Yeah, thanks," Jennifer took the clothes from Mike and went into the cabin to change. She held the big shirt up to her chest and sighed. She shrugged it on and dragged the pants up her legs. The pants immediately slide back down to the ground. She pulled them back up and held them there as she stepped outside. "Would you happen to have a rope?" she asked.  
"Um," Mike looked around, "yes, I do." He got up and walked over to the back of his cabin. He returned with a short piece of rope, already unraveling at the ends. Jennifer tied it around her waist and started to help Mike clean up breakfast.  
**  
**


	5. A Dinner Invitation

Brian led Emily down the stairs to huge dining room. Well, she thought it was a dining room. The table reached so far down the middle of the room that Emily wondered if people could hear each other talk when they were on opposite ends. On one end was a large elegant chair, complete with a red satin cushion for the back and bottom and smaller cushions on the armrest. Each armrest had little gold tassels hanging off. Suspended over the table were two large chandeliers with about twenty candles each.

"Hold on one second." Brian said pulling out a chair a gesturing too it. She sat down and he left the room through another door. When he came back he was carrying a giant silver platter, bigger than any plate she had ever seen before. He placed it in front of her and sat down across the table.

"I wasn't sure what you liked," He smiled at her. The platter was filled with the most amazing food, cheese, apples, ham, bread and crackers. Lettuce, tomatoes, and hummus. Her mouth watered just looking at it.

"Go ahead." Brian said, watching her amusedly. She did, she started with the apples and ended with the cheese, she rarely ever got cheese at home. It was too much of a delicacy and when they did get cheese Larine ate it all herself. In her haste she didn't notice the ripe tomatoes roll off the platter. They were just about to hit the ground when Brian caught them. "That was close."

"Yeah." She smiled, embarrassed. She took them, used the knife to slice them and finished them off too.

"Would you like anything else?" He offered, still slightly amused.

"No thanks." Emily didn't think she could eat anything else if she tried. Just then Ella came bursting into the room in a huff. Behind her was another woman wearing a gold dress and crown who Emily assumed was the queen.

"There he is," Ella spat shooting an accusing glance at Emily. "With her again."

"Yes there you are," The queen came over to Brian and patted him on the back, "We have been looking all over for you." He stood up. She then looked at Emily, "And who is this?" She asked.

"Emily," Emily mumbled holding her hand out to shake. The queen completely disregarded it before turning to Brian.

"And what is she doing here?" She asked him as if Emily were not even there.

"She was lost and hungry so I offered her food and a place to stay." Brian said matter-of-factly, "Father always says we should help anyone in need."

"Oh yes, well your father says a lot of things. How long will she be staying with us? Will she be joining us for dinner tomorrow? " Brian looked at Emily as if to ask: _Would you like to come to dinner? _Emily, of course had no idea what they meant by dinner and just gave him a blank face.

"Yes," He said, turning around and smiling.

"Well then she can't wear that." The queen said repulsively.

Ella who had been watching the whole exchange with disgust finally spoke, "Excuse me, but tomorrow night is a very important night and even though Brian wants to run around playing 'peasant protector' I was wondering if we could take care of more important matters." She gestured to her self as if to suggest that she was the important matter before spinning around and blustering out into the hallway. The Queen hurried after her. Brian shot a helpless look at Emily before trailing behind.

Emily could not believe she was going to royal dinner party. She had spent only one full day in the castle and had barely been able to take it all in and now here she was going to a _party._ That morning had been very nice. Emily had breakfast with Brian and then spent the rest of the morning getting a tour. That afternoon, on the other hand, had been a mess. Millie had already shoved a dress on her, although Emily had insisted the one she was wearing was fine, and women had dressed her faster then she could blink. Emily had just gotten a moment to rest when they door opened a little.

"I see you're dressed." Brian poked his head in before bringing the rest of his body with him and standing in front of Emily.

She smiled, "they got me." She held up the ends of her dress before dropping them in a defeated way. Brian looked like he had been fixed up too. His wavy brown hair was pushed back neatly and he was wearing a very prince like suit. Emily couldn't believe how good he looked, not that he didn't look good before, but it almost took her breath away.

He laughed too, "I hope it wasn't too much."

"No it was fine." They were both silent for a moment, she met his eyes before he looked away.

"I suppose we should be going now." He mumbled, still looking at the floor.


	6. Love

"Mike? Mike?," Jennifer looked around the quaint cabin, Mike wasn't in sight, "Mike, where are you?" Jennifer kept walking around, trying to find him, with no luck. She had woken up this morning to breakfast on the table and a note which said:

Femmina,

Castano and I have gone out hunting. We'll be back soon,

Mike

She didn't like being alone, so she decided to see if Mike was near. When it was obvious he wasn't, she became determined to do some cleaning up. Jennifer started by looking for a broom of some sort. After a while, she came to the conclusion that Mike didn't have a broom. She then hopped a few steps into the forest (she still had her crutches), on the look out for a good branch with pine needles on the end. She spotted a tree with a branch hanging that looked perfect for this task. She tried to snap the branch off, but didn't have much success. She tried again, letting her other hand drop the crutches and balanced on her good leg. After a while of tug o' war, she won and fell to the ground with the branch in her hand. She gathered her crutches and the branch and hopped back to the cabin.

She swept out the mounds of dirt from the cabin back to the outdoors, and cleaned some dishes with the water from a well Jennifer discovered in the back of the cabin. She tidied up, made the bed, and even made a walk way with some rocks she found. When she was organizing Mike's shelves, she noticed something was hiding on the very top. She stretched her hand up, on the tips of her toes and eventually got hold of it. It was fuzzy and soft. When she brought it down, she examined it. It was a small teddy bear, sand colored and seemed old, and it was greatly worn. Jennifer jumped when she realized half of the bear was burned. It was missing and eye, part of an ear, and half a smile. She turned it over and saw on the label messy handwriting. "Lilly" was what the messy washed ink said. Jennifer couldn't understand why Mike was hiding a half burned teddy bear that belonged to Lilly. Who was Lilly? Jennifer thought. She didn't think of it as too much of a big deal so put the bear back in its place and continued with her work. When all the work was done, Jennifer noticed the garden needed some tending. She gathered more water and sprinkled it onto the growing plants. When she reached the tomatoes, she stopped and admired their plump shape, and deep red color. They looked perfect. Then, an idea jumped into Jennifer's head. I'll make a salad for dinner tonight!, she thought. She went into the house and grabbed a basket. She collected lettuce, a cucumber, a red bell pepper, and two tomatoes. She put the basket with the assorted vegetables inside the house, and then her stomach rolled around, begging for food. Jennifer hopped back outside and picked another tomato. She plunged her teeth into it, breaking the thin layer of skin, and sinking into the juicy vegetable. She nibbled the plump, scarlet ball for a while, until she heard a twig crack behind her. She swirled around to see Mike standing behind her, Castano at his side, carrying a couple birds in his mouth. "Hello," Jennifer squeaked out, under her chewing.

"Hello," Mike said, looking around at the work she's done, "you shouldn't have done this, not with your bad leg and everything."

"I wanted to, your little house was getting messy, and I had nothing else to do," Jennifer tossed the remaining tomato on the ground and wiped her hands on her huge pants. "How was hunting?"

"Good actually, Castano and I got some excellent quail." Mike stared at Jennifer for a while, his eyes tracing her face, stopping at her red lips, "Um," Mike continued, "you've got a little tomato on your lips," he rubbed his thumb over her mouth, even once the tomato is gone, his thumb is remained in the same place. Their eyes are locked onto each others. Jennifer, staring deep into his, searching for answers, and Mike staring into hers just for the beauty of it. He leaned in; Jennifer felt his warm breathe flow over her lips. His lips reached hers and they molded into each other. When their lips are released, Jennifer and Mike step back in amazement. Jennifer had never kissed anyone before, except her mother, her real mother. This kiss was different though. Fireworks went off in her head and her heart, explosions of joy rushed through her veins. Jennifer had never felt such a feeling before. She had only one guess of what it could be. Love.

The next day, the memory of the first kiss Mike and Jennifer had shared together was spinning in their heads. They could never look at each other the same way again. They both knew what they had been special. They spent every moment possible together and for each minute they were apart, they made it up to each other a kiss. Mike decided to start showing Jennifer his special spots in the forest.

"Follow me Femmina," Mike said while holding out his hand. Jennifer smiled shyly then took his hand. He led them through some bushes behind his little cottage. Once he pulled apart the last two branches, a beautiful lake was revealed. Jennifer gasped softly then stared deep into Mike's eyes as if he had given her a gift and she was giving him a real thank you. They walked slowly to where the lake started and placed their feet in the cool water. Castano was very excited and started running back and forth, charging at the birds.

"This is beautiful," Jennifer said, stunned at the yellow and blue sunset, with strips of purple clouds slicing through the mural, covering the whole sky.

"It is," Mike whispered while staring at Jennifer.


	7. The Dinner Party

To emily, dinner had always been her and Jennifer sitting down to whatever either of them had conjured up that evening. Dinner at the castle was evidently a totally different thing. Emily found herself being led back into the huge dining room which was now stuffed with more people then Emily believed she had ever met in her entire life. The second Emily and Brian entered the room people turned their heads.

"Good Evening, your majesty" A short balding man pushed himself forward to greet them, well, Brian at least. When he stepped closer Emily realized that he was almost a head shorter then Brian and maybe a foot wider. The man took Brian's hand, kneeled down and kissed it.

"Good Evening Bernard," Brian said politely once the man had stood up again. "How are Mary and the kids?" The two men continued to small talk and Emily had time to think. She realized that there was a whole different side to him, the royal prince side. Suddenly he took her hand, pulling her out of her thoughts and causing a warm ripple to go down her arm.

"There's someone you should meet," he said, and pulled her through the crowd of people. It took them a long time to make it through the crowd because Brian had to say hello to all the guests but they finally made to one end of the table. At the end of the table was the fancy chair. She remembered it from when she had been in the dining room yesterday. Sitting in this throne-like seat was a man who can only be described as jolly. He had a big thick robe and a crown sitting on his bald head. He was plump and had big red cheeks, much like a child's, that were at this moment opened into a big smile. He let out a booming laugh. Emily realized that the laugh was directed to another man who she recognized instantly as the pope. The two men were laughing and talking like old childhood friends. Emily had never imagined the pope to have friends. Standing behind the throne was the queen, wearing a gold dress that reflected so much light Emily had to squint just to look at it. The queens pointed face was staring at the pope much like a hawk watches its prey. It was the queen who first saw Emily and Brian emerge from the crowd. She rushed to Brian as if he had just returned from battle and was in an instant brushing his hair and rubbing his face and muttering about how he "must be presentable". Emily thought he looked fine.

"Mother," Brian said with a mix of humor, sternness and annoyance while taking a step back. "I would like father to meet Emily." The queen glowered down at Emily but Brian didn't seem to notice and instead took a step forward to his father and the pope. Brian and the Pope exchanged Good Evenings and the Pope and the King exchanged nice-to-see-you's. The Pope then disappeared into the crowd and the king stood up.

"Good Evening son," The king said. Brian held out his hand but the king just wrapped his chubby arms around his son. Brian embraced the hug and laughed.

"Father," he said, taking a step to the side to allow room for Emily. "This is my friend Emily." He turned to Emily now, "Emily," He began, "this is my father."

"The king," she said, almost silently as if she could not believe she was actually meeting the king.

"Oh Yes, this must be the peasant girl your mother is so fond of," The king let out another booming laugh. Brian turned and raised his eyebrows to Emily. "Well you don't look like a ratty girl at all, you're quite pretty actually." He let out another booming laugh and embraced Emily. She wasn't sure whether to feel complimented or offended so she just stood there. "Oh well, you just carry on with your fun" he laughed again and reached for a wine glass on the table. After taking a long swig he went off into the crowd.

As soon as the king disappeared Ella emerged from the crowd. She was wearing a long red dress covered in glitter and her long hair was put up into an extravagant bun on the top of her head. Her face was buried in so much makeup Emily wasn't even sure if it was the same girl she had met before.

"Oh there you are Brian," she said in a purely cheerful tone, entirely unlike the one she had used when Emily first met her. She put her arm in the crook of his elbow and turned him to face the crowd. "Where have you been? Everyone needs to congratulate us and they can't do that if you disappear into nowhere."

"Sorry," he said but Ella didn't seem to notice. Instead she pulled him off into the crowd. Emily was left alone. It wasn't until now that Emily remembered that this was their _engagement _party. Brian is engaged. Emily couldn't stand this thought. She pushed her way through the mass of guests and made her way out of the crowded dining room and into the hallway. She entered through another door and found herself outside. Emily was in a huge garden. It was beautiful, she followed the path that twisted through the flower arrangements and was led into an opening. In the center was a little pond and off to the sides were a few weeping willow trees and there were more flowers then she could count. She collapsed next to one of the big trees. So many thoughts were going through her head.

Emily wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there but she heard footsteps and looked up. Brian turned the corner and saw Emily sitting on the ground, he hurried over to her. He was standing over her. He was only lit by moonlight but he looked so good it hurt, she looked down again.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, his tone was truly worried, "When I noticed you were gone, well Millie said you went out here, I wasn't sure if, if you were ok, or sick, I just, are you okay?" He was looking down at his feet now and digging his toe into the dirt.

"Yeah, I just," She took a big breath of air and while she spoke she watched him shake the dirt off the toe of his boot. "There was a lot of people in there, I just got… claustrophobic."

"Oh." They were both silent for a second then he reached down his hand to pull her up. She took it and he helped her off the ground. In silence she brushed the dirt off of herself and Brian took a step backwards into the opening. She followed.

"It's really pretty out here," She mumbled.

"Yeah," He agreed. Just then soft music drifted through the dining room windows. It was gentle and pretty. Suddenly Brian took her hand and started twirling her around the garden.

She hesitated, "I, uh, don't know how to dance."

"It's easy," he told her and pulled her in a waltz around the flowers. They danced and danced.

"Where'd you learn to dance?" She asked him.

"Every kid in the castle learns it as soon as they can walk." He laughed. She laughed too. The wind whipped by her face and her hair flew around. The moment ended to quickly, though, when suddenly she fell out of step and fell right on the ground. He stopped instantly. "Oh sorry," he muttered quickly and stooped over to help her up. The next moment was a blur to Emily, first she was on the ground and then she was in his arms and they were kissing. They kissed for what seemed to Emily like ages, way to long for a man with a fiancé. She knew that she didn't start it but she didn't stop it either. She didn't care though, this was all she ever wanted; she wanted to stay like this forever. She felt a drop of water hit the top of her head but ignored it and kissed him harder. He must have felt one too though because he pulled back abruptly. He looked shocked and then seemed to come to his senses. They both looked up at the sky and were bombarded with raindrops.

"I'm engaged," he stated to the air. And just like that he turned around and walked back inside, leaving Emily standing there in the pouring rain that hid the tears running like waterfalls down her face.


End file.
